"I think I really messed up."

Typical Sunday afternoon at our house, Jeremy was working on taxes and then sat down on the couch to relax and watch some college basketball, I was doing laundry and decided to make cookies, everything was good, sun was shining in the house and the dogs were content. Until, Jeremy got antsy and decided to begin some of the "small" projects around the house we're been talking about lately. Because of chaos of work, he doesn't get much or any time until after April 15, to do house stuff. We've been talking about minor remodeling of the bathroom, change vanity or paint/refinish and get new handles, change our mirror/cabinet and change the shower fixtures. Jeremy started with the "easiest" of them all, the shower fixtures. Approx 1:00 he starts working on taking them off to replace and is running up and down the stairs turning water off, etc... He stops at one point and says to me, "I really am not sure I know what I'm doing," and I say, "I was just going to ask you that exact question." Long story short, he removes the on/off knob from the shower and unknowingly breaks the pipe, therefore we have a flowing water fountain when the water is turned one. He comes to me, very pale and says, "I think I really messed up." I thought he was kidding, he was not, and therefore didn't have water for a chunk of time on Sunday. I was not so worried about anything other than going to the bathroom, due to my decreasing badder size and excessive water drinking, I was thinking I'll have to ask the neighbors to use theirs. After some frantic calls to plumbers, friends and family, his dad Don came over and put in a shut off valve for the shower, so we can turn the water back on. Fortunately no major "accidents," unfortunately we don't have a shower and now have a hole in the wall next to the toilet and as the plumber comes by to investigate the situation, that hole may grow. Looks like we'll be doing a lot more remodeling of the bathroom than first expecting!! Dad, we may have to use your help/expertise in this department, also Andy just did the bathroom remodel thing, so maybe we'll steal him too!! Until then, we'll be bathing like our ancestors before us, bar of soap, washcloth and a sink full of water!!

FYI- I feel like I need add a little to this, after the fact, and let everyone know that a plumber has been to our house and fixed everything!! I asked him how bad Jeremy mucked things up and the plumber responded that he was really surprised about how good it looked??? I was a little confused too, he said the problem he encountered, he did an excellent job of fixing it and the sautering (sorry I don't spell home improvement words very often) was excellent!! I hope this doesn't give him the wrong idea about being a "good plumber." YEAH JEREMY!!

Hope Jeremy doesn't spill the beans!

He's getting anxious about telling people, which is weird b/c he's not around lots of people at work and he's so busy with little to no time for socializing! He wants to just tell people, but I want to be a little more methodical about it. I want to keep it a secret for just a bit longer, sorry everyone! I feel like my family will be out of the loop anyway b/c of the distance from us and since we're the first I would love to tell them first. Maybe it's me being idealistic with regards to seeing this as a very exciting opportunity to surprise and excite people as much as we are! I know it may not go "as planned", but I'm really hoping to tell my parents soon, so we can start telling everyone else. I'm planning to trip to the East Coast and leaving next week, hope Jeremy can keep the secret a little longer!!

Pregnancy and Vanity don't go hand in hand!!

I know vanity is the last thing I should be thinking of as my child is growing inside of me, but being pregnant and feeling pretty is hard, so far. I was hoping I would be one of those glowing and radiant, small pregnant women, so far not so much! My hormones are going crazy and thus producing, not the crazy mood swings (fortunately for Jeremy), but the bad skin complexion and dry, frizzy hair (unfortunately for me)!! YUCK, as I said radiant, NOT ME!! I know a lot of the next 9 months is going to be hard, way harder than this, but this is all I have to work with now and personal perception is the worst way to see yourself. I also feel as if I'm looking a little bigger in the tummy department. I didn't really wear tight clothing before, but I'm having a hard time finding, in my wardrobe, clothes that flatter and don't show off the tummy!! I am dealing with everything, fairly well, but it is hard making changes that I wasn't expecting or hoping for! For those of you trying or hoping to have kids, here's the lesser side of being pregnant. Don't get me wrong, everything else is going well and I'm feeling, for the most part, great and healthy. Damn vanity is just getting the best of me right now.

This secret keeping business is hard!

It's getting harder and harder everytime I talk to my parents or sisters to not tell them our exciting news. Mom and dad just got back from CA visiting Jess and I'm trying to convince them to visit Dbq soon. Mom replied, "Yeah I would love to come up there, it's been a while since we've visited you guys. Although, I'm not sure dad can come because of basketball games, but I will definitely look at some weekends and let you guys know." I just want to scream NOOO!! The ideal situation is that mom and dad and Mandi and Andriy come to Dbq early to mid March and I tell them all, then and we call Jess and Clint. I also don't want to push hard on getting them here, then they will know something's up! Not sure how easy this will be after all??!! If that's not possible we may have to wait until after tax season, April 18 weekend, to go to Jacksonville and finally spill our big news. That means I would be 3 1/2 months pregnant, I'm sure my co-workers will start suspecting the bump is more than gaining weight!! Jeremy and I are brainstorming to try to make something work, BUT MY FAMILY IS NOT MAKING THIS EASY!! I'm also trying to think of a clever way to tell them, still have a few ideas and working on them, just not sure yet. After we tell them I plan to tell the Fluhr's and the rest of the world, relatively speaking. Until then, it's just our little secret!!

Valentines Weekend

I received a surprise delivery on Friday, a beautiful bouqet of flowers from Jeremy. I know some say it's a little cheesy to do flowers on or right before Vday, but I was really surprised and it made my day a little brighter!! Saturday we did dinner out with Abby and Andy at the Morrocco, dinner was OK, but we had a great night hanging out.

The Chukin's visit

Jeremy and I were so excited to have the Chukins up to visit us in Dbq for the weekend!! We had to entice them by buying them a Wii Fit, but it was well worth the running around town. The only imperfect part of the plan was the fact that I am pregnant, but wasn't planning to tell anyone for a while and when we get together, we drink. Jeremy and I put a "plan" together to make it look like I was drinking without me actually having to consume any alochol. It was difficult and I'm not sure we completely fooled them, but we did our best. We had a great weekend. I think it's the first time Mandi and Andriy have been in town, just them. We played Wii, of course, went to the River Museum (the above pics of Mandi and Andriy are at the Venom exhibit at the Museum), shopped, made an amazing meal and went out on the town. We had a great Wii Tennis tourney with all 4 of us playing, Mandi and Jeremy won best out of 3, then we played individually and I wooped some butt. We had a great time and love spending time with the family, we hope you guys will come visit again soon!! We love you guys and want you to move to Dubuque, no pressure though!!

It's positive, Officially

I stopped by my doctor today to take an official pregnancy test and to schedule a follow up appointment. While on my way to the restroom I ran into a co-workers wife, just recently had a baby, and I panicked and froze and then gathered my composure and said/did something really stupid and embarrassing. I refrain from retelling the story for both of our sakes. A little small talk then awkwardly off to perform the dreaded peeing in cup, I hate doing that!!!
The nurse called me back, weighed me and asked, "So were you expecting a positive result?" I responded, "Yes, I was hoping." We went back into the room and I was waiting for her to either confirm or deny my presumption and when she didn't I asked. It was a weird interaction of the nurse asking me (it kind of felt like selling me) who and where I want my delivery performed (tentatively I'm sure). She also talked a little about ultrasounds and I felt like my head was spinning. I rescheduled my next appointment and left feeling a little overwhelmed and unprepared for what lies ahead. Next time I'm making a list of questions, I don't care how first time mother I look, I'm planning to be prepared!! Oh yea, I'm due Oct 1!